LAHAINA FIRE - NATY PASCUAL FAMILY RECOVERY

Hi everyone!

My name is Glen Pascual and I am fundraising on behalf of my family.

I never thought I would ever have to do this, but I am starting this gofundme to humbly ask for your help. Our family has been affected by the wildfire that devastated my beloved hometown of Lahaina, Maui on August 8, 2023. Our family home was destroyed in the fire. Our 90 year-old mother Natividad Pascual barely escaped with her life. But thanks to God and many angels, she is still alive and staying here with me in Wailuku. My brother Macario and his family, Karen, Nick and Evan are safe but sheltering at home in Honokowai. They’ve been without power, and phone and cell service have been sporadic since Tuesday.

MY FATHER’S LEGACY

Our father Luis immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines in 1946 to work at the sugar plantation. He eventually settled in West Maui, working for Pioneer Mill, Ltd. In 1962, our Mom and my oldest brother Macario immigrated to Maui to join our Dad, and together they lived in a humble plantation home in Puukolii village, just north of Kaanapali. There, my brothers Conrad, Luis Jr. and Edwin were born and raised.

In 1969, my family had the opportunity to get a home in Lahaina town that was being built just south of Lahainaluna Road in the shadow of the Pioneer Mill smokestack. It was called the Paunau Subdivision. I was fortunate to have been born when we already had the house. Eventually, a covered patio and additional rooms were added to the house. Our house was our base. Even after my brothers and I graduated from Lahainaluna and went off to college, got our own houses and moved out of Lahaina, our house was always our HOME. It served as the place where all many of my relatives who later immigrated from the Philippines were able to get settled, establish themselves and start a new life here in Hawaii. When my Dad passed away 28 years ago, we as a family pledged that we could keep our home for my Mom to live in and for the home to serve as a testament to what our father did – the blood, sweat and tears that my Mom and Dad put into our home to make sure we all had better more comfortable lives. Even at 90 years old, my Mom refused to even consider the thought of leaving the house and living in elderly housing. Our home was filled with original art paintings by our brother Macario, countless tennis trophies from Mac, Conrad, Luis and Edwin’s time playing for the Lahaina Tennis Club under Shigesh Wakida. Diplomas, valedictorian certificates and medals, even my Hawaii Bar certificate were proudly displayed and hung on her living room wall, along with framed photos of all of her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren. These priceless mementos surrounded her every day as she sat in her favorite chair in the comfort of her living room. In an instant, all of these were GONE.

ESCAPE FROM HELL

My Mom only had the clothes on her back when she evacuated. Thank God her tenants were still there and evacuated her in time. As the fire and smoke rapidly descended upon them, her tenants were still patient with her even though she insisted on making shi-shi and checking, and double-checking, that the doors were locked before she left. As they drove through the fire, they found themselves stuck on the highway. Her tenant decided to drive down to the seawall by Bubba Gumps on Front Street and together with his wife and another Samaritan, carried her and placed her down on the oceanside of the seawall to try to shield her from the fire and smoke that raged around them. The van in the picture on the front page of the Maui News was my tenant’s van that my Mom was in.

My Mom’s tenant had my Mom hide in a nook adjacent to a concrete drainage culvert and placed a wet towel over her head. Her position was only within a few yards of the Bubba Gump building, which would later catch fire. Nevertheless, the nook somewhat protected her from the fire at Bubba Gump, the sea wall behind her protected her from the fires that were burning down the Lahaina Outlets. While she was somewhat protected from the direct heat and flames of the fires around them, she was still getting pounded by the waves coming up on the rocks she was sitting along with all of the debris that was in the water such as pieces of wood with nails in them. If she went into the ocean, she would’ve certainly been a goner.

For almost 5 hours, my Mom, her tenants and many others endured hell on Earth. My Mom’s tenant kept an eye on her throughout the ordeal. At around 9:30 p.m., a firefighter miraculously appeared and got them out of the water and led them to safety. Despite my Mom’s lack of mobility, her tenants stayed with her and made sure she was not left behind. The firefighter led them on foot up Papalaua Street as the fires raged all around them, then through the Lahaina Outlet parking lot onto Wainee Street and finally to a waiting evacuation vehicle on Kenui Street.

My Mom was evacuated to the Lahaina Civic Center shelter, where she was seen by EMTs for her eye injuries and small burns from the flying embers and ash. There, she was able to be transported by ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center where I was able to reunite with her at 3 a.m. Thank God. We truly believe that our Dad in Heaven was protecting our Mom.

Photo of my brothers and I with our Mom's tenants Loc "Mai" Tran and Thao Tran, along with Noy Wattanaporn, another survivor from the Lahaina Outlets seawall at the War Memorial Shelter.

REBUILD AND RECOVER

We humbly ask for your assistance. For our Mom - who lost everything. When she was discharged from the hospital, I asked where her belongings were. They said she had none - she literally lost all of the clothes on her back. All of her belongings in the world were destroyed in the fire. The GoFundMe will help with living expenses and bills, new clothes and necessities for our Mom, as well as the costs to make modifications to my home to safely accommodate our Mom for the next several months until her home can be rebuilt.

We hope to rebuild our family home, better and stronger than ever, on the same concrete foundation and sidewalk slabs from Puukolii that my father laid. The Pascual roots are firmly planted in Lahaina and we will never leave. We hope to one day enjoy the bounty from the marungay tree that my Dad planted back in 1969. The base of the tree still appears to be there – I am confident that it will recover as will our family and all of Lahaina. We appreciate anything you can give. Mahalo and thank you!